Well, it’s a party game, but that’s not a very meaningful or useful descriptor, since the only thing that really defines party games is surface accessibility and four player support. It could be any genre, and still be a party game.

Regardless of what its called people still compete in it very seriously. I don’t think Melee pros or the guys making Project:M give a crap about what people think. It has the same “vibe” as a fighting game. Notice the commentary running in the background of that Melee match, that it’s streamed, the tag names, everything is so similar.

“Party Fighter” will work until someone takes the time to design a game that uses the basic mechanic in a game that is intended to be played in a competitive environment. Maybe that’ll be a long time, or maybe there’s something already in the pipeline. I don’t think it’s a very useful term.